Search This Blog

Respectful Insolence is a repository for the ramblings of the aforementioned pseudonymous surgeon/scientist concerning medicine and quackery, science and pseudoscience, history and pseudohistory, politics, and anything else that interests him (or pushes his buttons). Orac's motto: "A statement of fact cannot be insolent." (OK, maybe it can be just a little bit insolent.)

The Twenty-fourth Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle has been posted all the way from New Zealand. Joseph from Immunoblogging has provided us skeptics with an pile of early Christmas presents taken from a large collection of the best that the skeptical blogosphere has to offer. In fact, because of the time difference and the logistics, he even posted the Circle several hours early (for those of us in North America, anyway).

Next up is Lord Runolfr from The Saga of Runolfr. He's scheduled for Thursday, January 5. So, between all the visits with family and friends and festivities, try to find time to send some skeptical blogging his way by January 4.

Orac is but a humble pseudonymous surgeon/scientist with an ego just big enough to delude himself that someone, somewhere might actually give a rodent's posterior about his miscellaneous verbal meanderings, but just barely small enough to admit to himself that few will. That Orac has chosen his pseudonym based on a rather cranky and arrogant computer shaped like a clear box of blinking lights from an old British SF show whose special effects were renowned for their early 1980's BBC/Doctor Who-style low budget look, but whose stories nonetheless resulted in some of the best, most innovative science fiction for television ever produced, should tell you nearly all that you need to know about Orac. (That, and the length of the preceding sentence.) Orac tries to keep his insolence respectful, but admittedly sometimes fails in the cases of obvious quackery and pseudoscience, attacks on him, very poor critical thinking skills, bigotry, and just general plain stupidity.